Met Luke about cross procession: Now Lord’s testing our faithfulness to Him
Metropolitan Luke. Photo: hramzp.ua
Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol believes that participation in the cross procession on the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is a test of our faith. Vladyka spoke about this in a commentary to the UOJ.
Metropolitan Luke emphasized that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the Church of Christ on Earth and the ‘gate of hell will not prevail against it’”. But "we ourselves can and must show that in earthly realities, believers are people not only with their duties to the state but also with the rights enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine".
“We are not a powerless and silent electorate or a gray mass. We are citizens and patriots of our country. But when our rights are blatantly violated, we are a real social force,” Vladyka emphasized.
The bishop pointed out that the believers of the UOC are "millions of citizens who are ready to testify about the truth of their Church and belonging to It in difficult times".
He is sure that today the Lord is testing our faithfulness to Him and the Church. “We love Ukraine and wish it only one thing – peace, therefore we demand not to violate the Constitution – the foundation of peace, as well as our rights enshrined in it!” said the hierarch.
Therefore, says Metropolitan Luke, "all bishops, priests, ordinary believers will go to religious processions throughout Ukraine on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy!"
He recalled the events and reactions of the believers in Montenegro in 2020 and stressed that “Orthodox Christians can unite and defend both their rights and the rights of their Church” because, “defending our shrines and holy faith, we, believers of the UOC, will not be alone – the whole Heavenly Church will be with us!” concluded Vladyka.
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